Shuffle Music Challenge
by SuprSingr
Summary: Click, mortal. Yeah, I'm talking to you. Don't you scroll away from this! CLICK THE DANG BUTTON. FOR THE LOVE OF CHEESE PUFFS, CLICK.


**A/N: **I clicked it. _I clicked it!_

*Screams in agony*

And now you did too. HA! Foolish mortal! Your soul is now mine! _All mine! _*Maniacal cackling*

*Stops dead* You can have it back after you do the prompt. *PEER PRESSURE COMPELS YOU*

**1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.**

**2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.**

**3. Write a drabble/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterward! No matter how whacked out your drabble is.**

**4. Do ten of these, then post them.**

Prepare yourself for some really screwed up crap. xD

**Disclaimer: **I own your soul, and my soul, and that soul. I own ALL DA SOULS! …But not "HEY ARNOLD!" *Pout*

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><p>"<em>Hey baby, can you bleed like me? C'mon, baby can you bleed like me? You should see my scars."<em>

– _**Garbage "Bleed Like Me"**_

Helga listened when people complained. She heard the kinds of things they considered 'problems.' She didn't understand how Arnold could deal with their meaningless, petty problems day in and day out. Every problem they had was self-inflicted.

Idiots.

All idiots.

She hated them. She wished she could be so spoiled to be able to consider 'not having enough money for ice cream' or 'hurt my finger rolling down a hill' to be a serious injustice of life. She wished she could look outside her window, see the rain pouring down, lightning flashing, and be surprised that it was raining on the one day she wanted to go outside.

But she couldn't. Because she had real problems. She had parents that ignored her. A sister that was better than her. An aching, burning love for a boy who'd never love her back.

Nobody could bleed like Helga. And she didn't even say a word.

* * *

><p>"<em>In a way, I need a change from this burnout scene. Another time, another town, another everything. But it's always back to you."<em>

**– _OAR "Shattered"_**

Arnold had been running his entire life.

He'd climbed every mountain, jumped every hurdle, pushed past everyone he'd ever known just to run from it. He knew what he was doing, too.

But it still hurt.

Everything hurt. The memories burned into his skin, making every expression, every smile, have an underlying pain behind it. He could run as long and as fast as he wanted but he'd never be able to forget. Never forget that he was an orphan. Forget that his grandparents were dead. That the boarders were gone. That his friends had moved on. That _she_ was gone.

_She was gone._

He tried to move on. He tried with every fiber of his being. He was okay without her. He was good. He was happy.

But still, he'd always look back, and the tears would start.

* * *

><p>"<em>Forgive me, I am lonely. Lonely for her touch. Now I used to be the one thing she needs, but now I'm not good enough."<em>

**– _Neon Trees "Phones"_**

Gerald groaned, watching as she walked away, tossing him back a smile that wasn't really there.

He hated this. It had been this way for months now. Or was it years? His sense of time had been shot for a long time now. Ever since this started.

Ever since High School had started, since she'd been taking all the advanced classes, already looking into colleges, studying every hour upon the hour. He barely saw her anymore. She might as well have died, because the girl he saw now was invisible. She was there, but she wasn't. Conversations were transparent, words pointless.

He missed her. God help him, he loved her.

But she had better things to be doing than worrying about love.

* * *

><p>"<em>Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me? Why is my reflection someone I don't know?" <em>

_**– Mulan "Reflection"**_

Helga stared at herself.

She stared hard. Her stare was so intense, so painfully intense, that she was surprised the mirror didn't shatter.

But as hard as she looked into that little school mirror, all she saw hardness. Gruffness. Aggression. Sarcasm. Anger. Burning, heated anger. _A bully._

And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't convince herself. Her reflection was meaningless.

The girl in the mirror wasn't her.

_Who was she?_

* * *

><p>"<em>It's been a long time coming. Such a long, long time. Can you hear my heart beating? Can you hear that sound?"<em>

**– _Coldplay "Gravity"_**

Twelve years.

Twelve years had passed, hadn't they? Twelve years they'd been an ocean apart, without any kind of contact. They hadn't seen or heard from each other for what would feel like a lifetime to most. A century.

And yet, as soon as his eyes connected with hers, it was like they'd never been apart. College had never even occurred. There was no big move. There was no years of painful sleepless nights. No. None of that had happened. Her lips tasted like cherry. Her skin smelled of vanilla and sunshine and clean sheets under starry skies. Her hair felt like spun gold beneath his fingers, softer and thicker than the tension between them now.

He could feel the pull that had always been there. He felt the silent calling of her tearful eyes, the beckoning of her lips.

And he would answer.

* * *

><p>"<em>Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness. And I would have stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life." <em>

**– _The Fray "How to Save a Life"_**

Curly screamed.

China shattered. Chairs were smashed. Weak walls crumbled.

And Curly screamed. He screamed loud enough that all of Hillwood shuddered. The world's heads all filled with anguish, and no one knew why.

_What could he have done? Why did she do it? How could she? How could she not know? Why? Why? Why?_

How could she not know that he loved her? After so many years of proclaiming he was her slave, that she was his angel, that he'd do anything, try anything, never stop trying until she was his? How could she do this? _He loved her._

But now she was gone. Rhonda was gone.

And Curly screamed.

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><p>"<em>I wish that I could cry. Fall upon my knees. Find a way to lie about a home I'll never see. It may sound absurd, but don't be naïve. Even heroes have the right to bleed."<em>

**– _Five for Fighting "Superman"_**

Arnold would never understand how anyone could assume he was perfect. He could never for the life of time fathom why anyone would think that. It was the most painfully absurd idea he'd ever heard.

So he helped people, he'd risk his life for his friends, he smiled every day, he looked on the bright side, he broke apart fights and stood up for what he believed in.

That didn't make him perfect.

He made mistakes every day. He hurt just like everyone else. He hurt more than any of them could _know_.

It wasn't easy. Every day was a struggle. Every breath labored.

And they thought he was perfect. They thought he was some savior. They thought he had all the answers. They thought he was some kind of _Superman_.

But he wasn't. He was an orphan. He was a ten-year-old boy. He lived in a boarding house. He wore hand-me-downs. He was confused, alone, and he was _sad_.

He wasn't perfect.

* * *

><p>"<em>We've been stuck now so long. We just got the start wrong. One more last try. Imma get the ending right. You can't stop this, and I must insist that you haven't had enough."<em>

**– _Marianas Trench "Haven't Had Enough"_**

Okay, yeah, so they fought. So they screamed at each other, he told her she made him want to rip his hair out. She pushed him and screeched that he was an idiot, an utter moron, a stupid, scrawny, football headed jerk.

So what they had wasn't perfect. But for the love of pink bows and funny kilts, they were only kids! They were _teenagers_! Of course it wasn't going to be perfect! It was perfectly normal! If they'd had it drawn out this long clearly they loved each other. You didn't just scream at each other every day and still come back at the end of the night if it wasn't true love. Freaking _doi._

But of course, he couldn't see that, not _Arnold_. Not the perfect, goody-two-shoes little Arnold. He needed easy perfection.

But she wasn't asking for his leg. She just wanted a second chance. They were older now, more mature and all that crap.

She didn't care if people thought they were wrong. She loved him. She hated him. She needed him. She couldn't stand him. And she knew he felt the same.

_Just one more chance. _

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><p>"<em>All is lost again, but I'm not giving in. I will not bow, I will not break. I will shut the world away." <em>

**– _Breaking Benjamin "I Will Not Bow"_**

Helga growled, her head buried deep underneath her pillow. Her chest ached. Her stomach rolled and shuddered. Her pillow was soaked with tears. It was too much.

It hurt so damn much. So freaking much. She hated it. She hated him. It hurt. _She hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him._

Her sobs thundered beneath the pillow, before she screamed in frustration and threw the pillow off her face. Possessed, eyes blinded with tears and red hot rage, she pulled the curtains shut, nearly ripping them clear off the window. She locked the door, and shut the lights off, before throwing the blankets over her head again.

He didn't exist. None of this existed. He wasn't moving. He was never even here.

And for the love of God, _she would not cry_. She would not cry.

No more. He wasn't worth it.

None of this was.

She cried.

* * *

><p>"<em>I feel nice. Like sugar and spice. I feel nice. Like sugar and spice. So nice, so nice. I got you!"<em>

**– _James Brown "I Feel Good"_**

Helga danced down the street, swinging her bow around in a circle, her grin a mile long. She knew there were people staring at her. She knew they probably thought she was crazy. But she didn't care.

It was a miracle. _She didn't care_. Couldn't possibly care less.

She was the happiest person in the world right now. She'd just come back from Arnold's house. The way he'd looked at her. He'd kissed her. He'd told her he loved her. He'd asked her to be his girlfriend. She'd never smiled so hard in her life. It nearly broke her face. It hurt. It hurt so good.

He loved her. He loved her. He wanted to be with her. After seven years, he was _hers_.

_They _were in love.

And Helga danced down the street, humming and laughing, in her own little world.

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><p><strong>AN: **Frickin' fo' realz? Madness! What is this _mess_? One minute Helga's crying, the next she's feeling like sugar and spice? One minute it's Arnold and Helga eye porn, then the next Curly's throwing chairs and smashing walls? *Rubs bride of nose* This is what happens… This is what happens when you're mentally unstable.

And have FREAKING AWESOME TASTE IN MUSIC ;D XD Dang, there's hardly any fluff here, though… :( I'll have to remedy this injustice later. ;)

_**REVIEW!**_

Mortals, do not disobey, or I'll make you dance like chickens straight into KFC.


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